Artwork
Untitled
Untitled is a crayon drawing by Jonathan Meese. It dates from 1998 and is held in the collection of the Museum of Modern Art.
About this work
Overview
It incorporates chromogenic prints, newspaper fragments, and hand-applied media including felt-tip pen, crayon, and synthetic paint.
Created in 1998, this work by Jonathan Meese is a mixed-media drawing composed of layered printed materials adhered to paperboard. It incorporates chromogenic prints, newspaper fragments, and hand-applied media including felt-tip pen, crayon, and synthetic paint. The composition resists conventional structure, assembling disparate visual elements into a dense, unregulated field that challenges distinctions between collage and drawing.
Subject & Meaning
The work aggregates fragments of popular imagery—faces, music posters, and textual snippets—without clear narrative. Recurring motifs, such as a man in a hat, suggest personal or cryptic references rather than public symbolism. Words like 'TONI' and 'IDOL' emerge as fragmented slogans, hinting at cultural obsession or internal monologue. The absence of resolution invites interpretation as an archive of fleeting cultural impressions.
Technique & Style
Meese constructs the piece through physical layering: cut-and-pasted paper elements are bound with pressure-sensitive tape and augmented by gestural marks in bright pigments. The interplay of black-and-white and color imagery creates visual dissonance, while scribbled lines in yellow and green act as erratic connectors. The handmade interventions disrupt the mechanical reproduction of source materials, emphasizing process over polish.
History & Provenance
The work entered the collection of The Museum of Modern Art in New York, where it is cataloged as part of the institution’s holdings in post-1960s drawing. Its creation coincides with Meese’s early engagement with performance and installation, reflecting his interest in destabilizing artistic boundaries. No prior ownership history beyond the artist’s studio is publicly documented.
Context
Emerging in late 1990s Germany, Meese’s practice responded to a cultural climate saturated with media imagery and historical memory. This piece aligns with broader European post-punk and neo-avant-garde tendencies that repurposed found material to interrogate identity and authority. Unlike traditional collage, it resists coherence, mirroring the fragmentation of contemporary experience.
Legacy
The work exemplifies Meese’s ongoing exploration of visual overload and the collapse of meaning in mediated culture. Its inclusion in MoMA’s collection situates it within a lineage of experimental drawing that privileges chaos and accumulation. While not widely reproduced, it remains a touchstone for artists examining the materiality of information and the limits of representation.
Artist & collection
Artist
Jonathan Meese is a German painter, sculptor, performance artist, and installation artist based in Berlin and Hamburg.
